The Café Accident (Vingettes)
by Clexaholic
Summary: Hollstein Café AU. Carmilla always spend her afternoons at the small café, but one day she is forced to sit by another table than her usual one at café. Little does she know it'll change her life forever. This story will contain a couple of vingettes, each containing different happenings and moments in Hollstein's life, all linked to The Café Accident and their life together.
1. The Café Accident

**Authors note; I'm having some troubles with my Clexa fiction at the moment. I don't feel like it's going anywhere and I can't come up with anything good to write, so I'm going to take a pause from that for a while. Instead I will focus on this little Hollstein AU I came up with at 4 a.m. when I was laying sleepless in my bed.**

 **Instead of making this one like my Clexa story, where each chapter pics up where the other one ended, each chapter in this story will contain one individual moment from Carmilla and Laura's life at different points in their life. Mainly it'll be about their life together, but sometimes when they are not, so I'll be jumping both backwards and forwards in time. (Everything is from Carmilla's POV, exceptions can be made. For example if there's a chapter where we'll be looking on Laura's backstory.)**

 **All this starting with** _ **The Café Accident**_ **, which is the chapter you're about to read after this note. This is where they meet for the first time and it'll be followed by the next planned chapter called** _ **The Day After Date**_ **, when they have their first "date". These two followed by other chapters with other happenings in their lives. I hope you'll enjoy it!**

 **English is not my native language; please keep this in mind while reading, because grammar errors and/or spelling mistakes are likely to occur. Thank you!**

The Café Accident

There were very few things Carmilla Karntein loved, but to sit in a small café after work, sipping on her newly brewed coffee and getting lost in a good book were definitely one of them. Books were of course the second thing, because what are there not to love about books?

Those two things pretty much summed up her whole list though, not that she was keeping one, but yes, there were very few things Carmilla truly loved.

On that particular day, when Carmilla arrived at her regular café to order her regular coffee, sit on her regular spot in the furthest back corner by the window and read her book like she had done every day for the last two years, things hadn't really gone the way they usually do.

When she had walked through the glass door, hearing that familiar ding from the little bell hanging in front of it, she had immediately noticed that her usual spot by the window had been taken by a couple holding hands over the round table.

For the love of everything, not today!

 _Calm down, it's not the end of the world Carmilla._

For a brief second she thought about leaving and returning later, but it looked like the couple had just sat down by the table and had no intention of leaving soon. She had already arrived at the café later than she usually does and she really didn't feel like skipping her visit to the café after the shit day she had had at work.

 _You're just going to have to get another seat, c'mon._

She sighed and walked up to the line to order her coffee. It was bound to happen someday, right? Her luck of getting to sit in that corner every day for two years was bound to run out sooner or later, she knew that. Later was what she had hoped for though.

"Hello, Carmilla. The usual I suppose?" The blonde café worker, named Elsie had greeted her, together with that smile that always seemed to be present on the girl's lips. Carmilla nodded slightly and answered with a short yes, not feeling like small talk that particular day.

Finding a new place to sit had been harder that it seemed. For some reason the café was more crowded that usual, but she managed to catch a table almost right in the middle of the café. It made her feel a bit uneasy, but it had been the best at the moment.

 _It's only for today_ ; she had tried to convince herself while sitting down.

Carmilla had placed her black, leather bag besides her chair, but when not being used to people actually being able to walk not only besides her on both sides, but also behind her, she had placed her bag before sitting down. Her carelessness had resulted in that when she dragged her chair towards the table, the bag ended up half standing beside her chair, half sticking out behind it, making it a death trap for anyone who didn't carefully watched where they were going.

* * *

Almost an hour later, the coffee was long gone and Carmilla had been feeling rather comfy, despite the circumstances of not getting to sit by the window back in the corner.

She had been completely lost inside her book and mind, when she suddenly was slung out to reality by a loud noise behind her. It had sound like a shriek, followed by a loud thud and a "Fuck!".

Carmilla quickly turned around, still holding her book in reading position in front of her face. When she had lowered it, she saw a young woman sitting on the floor behind her. Her dark blonde hair had been hanging down over her face as she rubbed her knees which had probably taken the hit from her fall.

The young woman had tripped over the death trap of a bag besides Carmilla's chair, fallen and spilled most of her coffee on herself, but also some on Carmilla's back. She could feel the heat spread on the center of her back.

Carmilla had been in shock for a couple of seconds and all she managed to do was to stare at the blonde, but when she realized what had happened, she shot up to a standing position from her chair.

"I-I'm so incredibly sorry, a-are you okay?" Carmilla stammered in shame as she went up besides the unknown woman. Carmilla had stretched out a hand and offered the woman help to get up from the floor, which she immediately took and was quickly up on her feet.

The woman removed her thick hair from her face and let out a little sigh, but she didn't look mad. She didn't look mad at all, she actually smiled towards Carmilla.

Carmilla did have a habit of looking a bit too long, almost staring sometimes, when she looked at people and how could she even try to not stare at the woman in front of her?

She was absolutely stunning! Even with coffee dripping from her shirt and her hair in a little mess.

Hazel eyes met Carmilla's dark brown ones and they stood like that, just looking at each other for what seemed like forever to Carmilla. Though, it had probably just been half a second.

"I'm fine, just very clumsy, that's all." The woman finally said and looked down at her shirt. "My shirt on the other hand, is not so fine." She chuckled and when she did, Carmilla had sworn that in front of her stood a sunray in human form.

The woman seemed to be completely untouched by the fact that she had just tripped, fallen on her face and spilled coffee not only all over herself, but also a stranger. She had just smiled at Carmilla. The most genuine and bright little smile she had ever seen.

"Oh shit, your shirt… God, I'm so sorry!" Carmilla panicked when she actually realized the woman's shirt was soaked in coffee.

"I live just around the corner, you could borrow my shower if you'd like, and some clothes of course. That's the least I could do for causing this. I mean, if you want to of course, you don't have to, because I'm a stranger and all but…" Interacting with people had definitely never been Carmilla's strong side, but the blonde's smile had only grown bigger and she held up her hand to interrupt the very nervous and ashamed brown haired woman.

"That's very nice of you, I'd like that." She said and picked up her jacket from the floor, ready to go. Carmilla had been a bit shocked at first. Did she really just agree that fast to go home with a stranger? But then she softened a bit and tried to put on a smile herself, though it had probably looked very stiff and more like a straight line on her face.

* * *

Carmilla wished she could be tidier as they entered her not very clean or tidy apartment.

An apologize was about to slip out of her, but the blonde woman had commented on how nice her apartment was before it go out.

She must've lied to be nice.

Though the woman didn't look like she was lying at all, she looked as genuine as when they were in the café.

How is she even real?

Carmilla had caught herself thinking, before she mentally slapped herself. You can't be having a crush on someone you met just twenty minutes ago, get yourself together Karnstein.

"Ehm, the bathroom is over here." Carmilla gestured with her hand to a door at the end of the hallway before walking up to it. She opened the white door and quickly grabbed a towel from a cabinet directly the left.

"I'll grab you some clothes." She smiled to the woman before leaving, a bit less stiff this time.

When Carmilla had been about to walk back to bathroom from her bedroom, she could hear running water. The woman had started her shower without waiting for Carmilla to return with clothes.

She is really full of surprises.

 _But very cute surprises though!_

Carmilla placed the clothes on the bed.

While the woman, Carmilla really needed to ask her for her name, was in the shower, Carmilla changed into a clean, dark grey T-shirt with a very faded yellow and white print.

For the woman from the café, she hadn't been able to know what to bring, because she didn't know the woman well enough. Instead for one, she had grabbed a bunch of different kinds of clothing so the woman could decide herself what would be the best replacement to her blue button up herself.

Carmilla had been able to make some coffee before the woman came out from the shower, to make up for that the woman never got the chance to drink hers at the café before becoming a victim of Carmilla's bag.

She had just placed the two, dark blue mugs on the table by the sofa when the blonde exited the bathroom, having nothing but the black towel to cover up her body.

Carmilla's jaw dropped for a second and she had been thankful for that she had time to put down the mugs, because otherwise she would've definitely had dropped them too.

The woman smiled at her. "It was very nice of you to let me borrow your shower. Oh, and you made coffee! You didn't have to go through all that trouble just for me; it was an accident after all. But thank you, how very sweet of you." She said and smiled that stupid, genuine, sunshine smile that made Carmilla feel like a crushing high school girl.

"Oh no, don't mentioned it. It's the least I can do." Carmilla protested. "And you're pretty sweet yourself, you know, and pretty too." Carmilla winked at her.

What was that? The woman had been slightly blushing after Carmilla had given her the compliment.

She had seemed to be so confident during all this time, despite everything that happened and despite the fact that she was standing in a stranger's house with nothing but a towel around her body. Carmilla had found it really adorable that the woman had a moment of being a bit shy and blushing.

"There are clothes on my bed, chose whatever suits you." Carmilla said and this time she smiled in a much more relaxed way. She had managed to make the confident blonde shy and blush, which helped her gain some confidence.

"My name is Carmilla, by the way." She added before the woman had completely left the living room. The woman turned her head. "I'm Laura." She smiled, slight red color still spreading across her cheeks, and then she closed the door to the bed room behind her.

 _Laura._

What the hell are you doing Carmilla?

 _It's such a pretty name._

When the woman, or Laura, had changed into some clean clothes, she joined Carmilla on the black leather sofa.

Carmilla handed her a mug of coffee and then took a sip of hers.

"Maybe not fancy like café coffee, but I hope it'll make up for it anyways." Carmilla smirked and Laura blushed once again.

Carmilla was discovering a completely different side of this woman than what she had seen at the café. A shy and absolutely adorable side, which had flamed a huge feeling of that she wanted to get to know Laura better.

 _You need to get to know her._

"It's more than perfect." Laura said with a smile and took a second sip.

They sat like that, just sipping on their coffee in silence for a while, taking in everything that had happened during the day.

Weirdly enough, there had been nothing awkward about their silence, but after a while Carmilla couldn't hold in the feeling of that she needed to get to know Laura better. She had started to become incredibly curious about this tiny, blonde woman.

Okay, she wasn't _that_ tiny, but she was at least half a head shorter than Carmilla.

 _Go on; tell her to talk about herself._

"So, tell me about yourself Laura." Carmilla said and smiled a bit towards her, hoping she hadn't sounded like a complete creep when saying that.

Laura glanced up at her while taking a big sip of her coffee. "Sure!" She said and settled her mug on the table, then folded her hands over her knee and looked back towards Carmilla.

* * *

Never in her entire life had Carmilla met someone who could talk as much as Laura had, and in that speed.

Not that Carmilla had socialized with many people in her life outside her family, but really, this girl never stopped and Carmilla had found it hard to not get tangled up in everything she said a lot of times.

But she listened, carefully and with an interested glimpse in her eyes.

During Laura's speedy ranting, Carmilla learned that Laura had studied journalism in collage, but had worked at a lot of different places which hadn't included journalism after she graduated, before actually becoming a columnist for a small, local newspaper, where she currently worked. She had been a real nerd at collage, studying her ass off, which she had told with an adorable laughter and a slight blush.

Now, she lived on the south part of town, but wasn't originally from here. She had moved here, mainly because of the opportunity to get a job at the newspaper. That was three years ago. She was an only child with an overprotecting father and a dead mother. She had been quick to mention it happened a long time ago and that time had healed her, so that Carmilla wouldn't become worried.

But Carmilla felt empathy towards the blonde anyways. A feeling she seldom felt.

She usually didn't care much about for other people or their stories, but she had been so interested in hearing about Laura's life. It was like reading the first pages of a book, getting the feeling of that it's going to be an amazing read.

Carmilla raised her dark eyebrows when Laura had told her she was a regular at the same café as Carmilla. She had never noticed her before, which she damned herself for. But then again, she was usually in her own world and rarely cared about her surroundings.

"I've seen you a lot of times, though I'm not surprised you haven't seen me. You always have your nose buried in a book." Laura giggled and finished her coffee.

It had been Carmilla's turn to blush. Blush, what! Carmilla never blushed, what was happening to her?

Carmilla chuckled. "Yeah, I like to read. It's probably the only thing I really like in this messed up world. Books, I mean."

 _And Laura._

What, no, stop it! You've known the girl for like two hours.

 _But she is nice isn't she? And pretty?_

Pretty? That's an understatement, she's freaking gorgeous.

 _And super adorable?_

Hell yeah! Wait… No, stop it!

"Earth to Carmilla, hello?" Laura had waved her had in front of Carmilla, who had been staring into what seemed like nothingness for a couple of seconds.

"What? Oh, sorry, I kinda zoned out for a second." Carmilla apologized. "What were you saying?"

"I noticed that, cute." Laura smiled before continuing. "I said that I'm really thankful for everything. The shower, clothes and coffee, it was all very thoughtful of you. Sadly I have to go now though, I've promised a friend to babysit her kid. I had fun, it was really nice."

Carmilla felt her stomach drop a bit; she didn't want Laura to leave.

 _You like her._

"I had a really good time too. I'm glad we stumbled upon each other, or more accurate, you stumbled upon my bag." Laura had laughed loudly at her attempt to a pun.

Well, at least she finds me funny, Carmilla thought poudly.

"How about I get your number, so I can return this shirt sometime? And then we could also maybe grab a coffee together at the café, without any tripping and spilling it all over the place this time." Laura said with a bright smile and a small chuckle.

"I think I'd like that very much." Carmilla had said with unfamiliar warmth in her voice, which had caught her a bit by surprise. She tried to regain some control over herself with a deep, but discreet breath and handed her phone to Laura so she could add her number to her contact list.

After Laura had added her number, they both walked out into the hallway and when Laura had put her jacket on she turned towards Carmilla, her back facing the door.

"I'll text you." She said with a shy smile. Carmilla nodded.

"Goodbye, Carmilla." Laura said as she opened the door and started to step backwards out of the apartment.

Carmilla said goodbye back, but it had almost come out more as a whisper, because she was too focused on taking in her last look of Laura before she would close the door and disappear.

Not that she would disappear forever, but Carmilla had a huge feeling she would actually miss her until they would see each other again.

The door closed.

Carmilla stood and stared at the door for a couple of minutes, taking some deep breaths before heading back to the sofa.

When she sat down, she had seen the screen lit up on her phone.

" _I'm convinced we both can't wait longer than tomorrow, so what about tomorrow at 5 at the café? / Laura."_

Carmilla smiled towards the screen.

" _You're right. Five sounds good, see you there!"_ She sent the message, but didn't expect to get an answer so fast.

" _I know, I'm always right ;) It's a date, see you!"_ Carmilla took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

It's a date.

 _You do like her._

Yes, I guess I do.


	2. The Day After Date

**Author's note: As you may have noticed, Carmilla is kinda having a fight with herself and small conversations with herself in her head now and then. Don't worry, she isn't schizophrenic or anything like that hahah. An explanation to this will come in time!**

 **Oh, and Happy New Year everybody!**

The Café Accident: The Day After Date

The clock turned 4:30.

Carmilla was walking rapidly back and forth in her apartment; mostly tidying up the mess she called her home. It didn't only make her feel better about her home, but it also helped her keep her mind occupied and from the fact that she was going to meet up with Laura in thirty minutes.

She had probably changed her outfit twenty times during the last two hours, but she finally settled with her favorite pair of leather pants, a black crochet t-shirt and a necklace to fancy it all up. That was about ten minutes before her cleaning session started.

Her make-up, which usually took her about fifteen minutes to do, took her an hour that day. She wanted it to be absolutely perfect.

Whether she should have her hair up or not had probably been her easiest decision and she ended up having it down, because that's what she preferred the most.

It was weird, because Laura had seen her when she hadn't put so much effort or thought into her looks and clothes, but despite that, Carmilla cared to put everything she got into it now.

Even though Carmilla wasn't really the person who cared much for other people or their opinion about her, a little something inside her did care what Laura thought.

Deep down, she wanted Laura to become as blown away by her, as Carmilla had been the first time she saw Laura inside the café, or really every time she had laid her eyes upon the blonde girl since they first met.

* * *

When it was quarter to five, Carmilla couldn't keep herself from walking down to the café anymore.

It usually took about five minutes to walk from her apartment to the café, though she walked in way quicker pace than needed and only three minutes passed before she found herself standing outside the familiar glass door.

 _You are so nervous; you must really like this girl._

Still, I've only known her for some hours. So calm down about it, will you?

 _You calm down, your heart is beating faster than a frightened rabbit's._

Carmilla took a deep breath before opening the door. She was greeted by the sound of the small, golden bell like always.

She was getting really tired of her feelings playing with her mind, making her think way too hasty things about Laura.

Before she sat down by her regular table in the corner, Carmilla usually ordered her coffee, but not this time. She wanted to wait for Laura, so they could enjoy every sip of their hot beverages together.

 _Oh, you have become a softie for this girl already, haven't you?_

I have not! It's called not being rude, for fucks sake.

Not only did she not order her coffee, but Carmilla even chose not to sit down at the table in the corner.

Instead, she sat down in the middle of the café, at the same table as yesterday. This time, she made sure to tuck her bag almost all the way under the table. She wouldn't want another person tripping over it, especially not today.

Laura walked through the café door just as the clock turned five.

Very punctual, Carmilla thought for herself and a small smirk grew on her lips. She rose from her chair and waved a bit towards Laura, trying to catch her attention.

The bright smile and the most adorable little wave that Laura gave Carmilla when she finally spotted her by the table, made Carmilla's stomach tingle a bit.

"Hi!" Laura said joyfully when she reached the table.

Her hazel eyes were twinkling in the subdued lighting that was set inside the café. Most of the light actually came from the two candles which were set on each table.

It was very cozy, especially with the dark and cold winter weather going on outside.

"Hey." Carmilla smiled. "I arrived a bit early, but as you know I live nearby and I was ready to go a bit before time, so I did." Carmilla excused herself. "But better early than late, right?"

Laura smiled and nodded in response before taking off her jacket and hung it over her chair.

She really seems to like button ups, Carmilla thought. Yesterday, Laura had worn a blue, long sleeved one and today she was wearing a short sleeved, slightly see-through, dark blue one filled with very small, white polka dots and slightly bigger, white bowtie prints.

They became silent for some seconds, their eyes locked.

They were both a bit unsure if they should do anything more with their greeting, more than just saying hello. Carmilla knew that she really wanted to hug her, but she didn't want to be too fast forward, so she ended up not doing so.

"Oh, I brought your shirt by the way. Thank you again for letting me borrow it!" Laura said as she opened her bag to pick up the shirt, breaking the tension that had started to build up when it had gotten silent between them.

"No problems at all. You can borrow it whenever you want to, creampuff." Carmilla said and smiled smirkily, which was something she did quite often and Laura secretly found herself thinking it was incredibly charming.

 _Creampuff, huh? That's very sweet._

Shut up, will you?

Laura looked up from her bag with a bit confused look, but she was also blushing, obviously flattered by the sugary nickname.

"That's the oddest, but literally sweetest thing someone has ever called me." She said between small chuckles and dragged the shirt out of her bag.

"Well, you are pretty sweet."

Laura's chuckles tuned into a soft laugh at Carmilla's comment.

"I like it!" She then said and handed the shirt to Carmilla, who immediately reached to take it. Their fingers slightly brushed as she did, which made a blush rapidly spread across both of their faces.

That was the first time they touched each other without being in a panicked situation that involved falling and lots of spilled coffee. Even though it was just a slight brush against Laura's index finger, it had sent what felt like electric waves through Carmilla's hand and down into her stomach.

Carmilla quickly bent down to tuck the shirt down her bag, hoping that Laura didn't see the red color spreading across her cheeks. She took a deep breath before straightening her back.

"Let's go order, shall we?" She said with a smile, which was immediately mirrored by a still blushing Laura.

* * *

"Wait, how much bear spray did you say your dad sent you in collage? And don't tell me there were as many baseball bats." Carmilla laughed before taking a sip from her coffee.

"He sent me two freaking bags with five cans of bear spray in each! Only one baseball bat though, but at least a dozen spatulas." Laura threw her arms to her side at the ridiculous amount of protection tools her overprotective dad had provided her with during her years in collage.

Carmilla almost choked on her coffee. "Did you say spatulas? Are you serious?"

"Oh, don't underestimate the power of a spatula, dear. They can hurt quite a lot, so don't piss me off while I'm cooking." Laura grinned.

"I don't think a spatula is enough to scare me away." Carmilla scoffed and pursed her lips in a mocking smirk.

Laura playfully narrowed her eyes towards her and stuck out her tongue quickly, like a small, stubborn child. "A dozen actually!"

Carmilla really believed Laura had already become as adorable as absolutely possible in her eyes, but she just kept on becoming more and more adorable for every second that passed.

And she kept on surprising her with all the things adding to her personality.

One second she could be ranting like the world depended on it, next she was acting like a little child. She could also become quite bold at times, flirting and smirking like Carmilla tended to do a lot.

Whenever Carmilla added a flirty comment, called Laura creampuff or something else that was sweet and edible, smirked charmingly or looked at Laura with eyes that had become quite seductive, Laura became quiet and really shy. Always blushing and smiling shyly with teeth while looking down at her half-finished blueberry cupcake or playing with the white tablecloth.

Carmilla really enjoyed seeing all these sides of Laura, but of course the shy and blushing Laura was a lot to her liking, because it gave her hope.

"Enough about me, I want to know about you now." Laura said with her mouth full of blueberry cupcake.

Carmilla froze and stared up at Laura. She wanted her to talk about herself, but what is there even to say? Carmilla wasn't exactly the person who enjoyed or was very good at socializing with others. She had never really talked about herself to anyone before, but then, no one had ever been very interested in knowing. Even though she got along pretty well with most people at her workplace, mostly because of their common interest for books, she hadn't had friends since collage. But not even then had she talked much. She had mostly just sat in the back and read a book as her friends talked about only God knows what, which had resulted in them pretty much giving up on trying getting her to join their conversations.

She hadn't really minded it though, she enjoyed being alone. Though after meeting Laura, she started to question how much she actually enjoyed it, because she found herself liking Laura's company a lot.

It was all thanks to the accident that Carmilla even started taking her time to hang out with Laura though, or dared to rather to hang out with her. She did however not wish that it never happened and Carmilla realized that for the first time in a long while, she felt that being in someone's company wasn't so bad after all.

"Ehm, well…" She tried to figure out what to say or where to even start. Laura smiled encouragingly at her.

"Well, tell me first where you're from." Laura said, giving her somewhere to start.

"I'm from Eastern Europe, but moved here at young age." Carmilla answered shortly.

"Aaaand…" Laura rolled her hand in the air, a gesture meant to further encourage Carmilla to continue.

"And I have a younger brother and an older sister, though she is adopted. William and Mattie are their names. I grew up in a big, very old-fashioned house, my mom owned, or she still owns, a rather successful business, so there were lots of rooms for us play in all day. One hide and seek game could take up to two hours, because the house was full of secret passages and hidden rooms." Carmilla smiled a bit, remembering how she had searched for her bother for two hours down in the underground passages before finding him all muddy and covered in cobweb.

"That sounds wonderful!" Laura said and took a sip of her coffee.

"It was, I was very happy there and so was my family." Carmilla felt how a wave of nostalgia hit her and she smiled.

Her smile quickly faded though and she looked down at her empty coffee mug. "But things changed a lot when we moved here though. I was only five and moving across the ocean, leaving all of that behind and so sudden, it was a huge and hard change for an unexperienced little me."

"I can imagine." Laura said quietly and noticed a glint of sadness that appeared in Carmilla's eyes.

Then she did something that Carmilla didn't see coming. Laura stretched out her arm across the table and placed her hand over hers. Then she pursed her lips in a small, but very warm smile.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Your childhood I mean. Tell me about your job instead or anything you feel like. Why you love books so much maybe. " Laura said with a soft voice and started to caress the side of Carmilla's hand with her thumb.

Carmilla found Laura's touch incredibly comforting. Just the small caresses from her thumb made Carmilla instantly calm and forget all about what she didn't want to remember about her childhood.

She felt really cared for, something she hadn't felt in a very long time, if truly ever. Laura cared for her. With that thought, Carmilla turned her hand around and grabbed Laura's, squeezing it gently as a thank you.

Laura looked down at their hands for a second, then she smiled a smile so bright, her whole face lit up and Carmilla knew that she had made the right decision by grabbing her hand.

"I work at a library downtown." Carmilla started.

"Of course you do!" Laura grinned at her.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Laura giggled at Carmilla's reaction and her failed attempt to look offended.

"You are always reading, like always. Every time I've seen you, you always have a book in your hand and you never put it down. Not even when you take a sip of your coffee."

"That's because books are amazing! You get to use your imagination to create a world with the help of the book and it allows you escape reality for a while." Carmilla smiled again. "There's just something about sitting in a crowded place, but not actually being able to notice the crowd or hear the voices around you, because you get so deeply pulled into your own mind. Then the feeling when you stop and get sucked back to reality and you realize that two hours has already passed, but it felt like five minutes…" Carmilla explained, sounding rather distant as she did.

Laura placed her elbow on the table and rested her head in her hand. Her head was tilted and a slight smile played across her lips as she watched Carmilla talk about how much she loves books and the feeling they give her.

They way her dark brown eyes lit up while she talked was probably one of the most beautiful things Laura had ever seen.

"I'm sorry; this must be incredibly boring for you to listen to, me getting all sentimental over books." Carmilla chuckled, but Laura just stayed as she was, head rested in her hand, taking in the sight of Carmilla for just a few more seconds.

"I like the way your eyes light up when you talk about it." Laura finally said, before the silence and her staring at Carmilla became too weird.

Carmilla didn't say anything, because she didn't know how to respond to it other than smiling appreciatively. Laura smiled back at her.

 _She sure knows how to melt a girl's heart. Even the coldest ones._

She sure does.

* * *

Carmilla insisted on walking Laura home when they started to get ready to leave the café, only thirty minutes before closing time.

"It's really nice of you that you want to walk me home, but you live like five minutes from here and I, well not as close. It's really cold outside, Carmilla." Laura said as she took her jacket on.

It was not that Laura didn't want Carmilla to walk with her home; it was just actually really cold outside and walking Laura to her apartment would mean a long walk back home for Carmilla.

"Cupcake, it's really no troubles. I need to make sure my date gets home safely, don't I?" Carmilla said and winked at her and Laura just couldn't argue against her anymore.

They excited the café and Carmilla gestured for Laura to show the way with her hand and smiled that charming smirky smile.

"Alright then, but don't blame me if you freeze your toes off on your way back home." Laura said and shivered a bit from the cold, evening air before she started walking.

Carmilla chuckled. "It would be worth it."

Laura glanced at her and she was very sure she was blushing, because her cheeks suddenly started to burn with warmth.

* * *

As she walked Laura home, Carmilla really wanted to take Laura's hand, but she still wasn't brave enough to do so.

She could call Laura cupcake and other sweet things, wink at her, look at her with her seductive eyes and flirt with her slightly. But a touch, a touch was something completely different from all of that. It was way more loaded and intense than words or looks could ever be.

When they arrived outside Laura's apartment port, Carmilla was rather disappointed in herself. She should've taken her hand; it wasn't like they hadn't held hands before, because they had during more than half of their date.

For a brief second, she wondered if Laura was disappointed too.

"So, here we are." Laura said with a little sigh and turned to face Carmilla, who also turned to face her.

"I've had a great time." Carmilla said and smiled towards Laura.

"I did too. We should do it again sometime."

"I agree."

"Now get home before you'll freeze your ass off." Laura said and rubbed her hands against Carmilla's arms. It wasn't holding hands or a kiss, but it was at least something.

"Yeah, it is actually really cold."

"I told you so! You should've listened to me." Laura commented and gave her a mocking smile.

"Nah, I still think it's worth it." Carmilla said and slightly bumped Laura in the side with her elbow.

Laura smiled at her and Carmilla smiled back. "Goodnight, cupcake."

"Goodnight, I'll see you." Laura stood up on her toes and gave Carmilla a quick peck on her cold cheek, before she disappeared into the stairway.

Carmilla turned to look after her though the glass door as she walked up the stairs and disappeared, her hand placed on her cheek. She could still feel Laura's warm lips burn against her cold skin and her heart was like the hoofs of a galloping horse.

If this is how she felt from just a small peck on the cheek from Laura, she couldn't even being to imagine how it'd feel to actually kiss her lips.

 _It'll without doubt feel amazing, indescribable._


	3. Doubts And The Unexpected

The Café Accident: Doubts and The Unexpected

A bit over a month had passed since Carmilla and Laura first met. During this month, they had seen each other at the café almost every day and casually hung out, like friends do.

They had also gone to a few more dates, if they could even be called that. Most of the time they had gone to other places than the café, Carmilla had even once taken Laura to the library where she worked. It had actually been, much to Carmilla's surprise, Laura's idea and she had literally insisted that Carmilla would take her there. Carmilla had been worried that it would be a boring place to hang out, because Laura didn't really share her enthusiasm for books, but Laura had seemed to had had a good time despite that.

Though, they hadn't done much more than some hand holding and some few kisses on the cheek during this whole time and one night, when Carmilla was laying in her bed trying to go to sleep, doubt started to gush over her.

Why had nothing more than the hand holding and then and the very few kisses on the cheek happened? They hadn't even hugged more than twice.

Carmilla knew that she wanted more. She had wanted more ever since Laura kissed her on the cheek for the first time when Carmilla had walked her home after their first date.

Were they even dates? Maybe Laura did only see her as a very close friend, because friends could hold hands and kiss each other on the cheek if they were close, right?

She knew she was only fooling herself when thinking that they were only friends, because they had been flirting quite a lot and frequently during this month. They could barely have a conversation without one of them saying something sweet or flirty to the other one.

Carmilla turned violently to her side, hugging one of her many pillows close to her, secretly wishing it was Laura.

Maybe there was something wrong with her? Maybe she was doing something wrong?

She swallowed hardly; there must be something wrong with her. She must've been doing something that made Laura not wanting more than hand holding and to kiss her on the cheek.

Carmilla was confused, really confused. She felt so strongly that she wanted more and she had thought a lot about kissing Laura, but she was too afraid to do so, because in the back of her mind, she was afraid that Laura only saw her as a friend despite them obviously not being only that. There was this little maybe. Maybe Laura just simply didn't want to take a step further.

It took Carmilla hours to finally fall asleep that night.

* * *

The next day, Carmilla called in sick to work. There were two reasons for her doing so. Firstly, she needed to get her feelings and head sorted out, have a day to just lie in bed and relax. Secondly, she didn't want to see Laura.

No, that was a lie, of course she wanted to see Laura, but she simply couldn't. Not with all the thoughts that had appeared in her mind, she was afraid that she would only make the situation worse by being more afraid and now, also in doubt.

Carmilla slept in late that day, waking up at 1 p.m. when she usually woke up at 7. It felt great to be able to sleep longer than usually though, because Carmilla was absolutely not a morning person.

Exactly as Carmilla had planned, she spent the whole day in her bed, sipping on tea, eating cookies and reading a book. She even watched some TV, which happened very rarely, because she didn't like the idea of someone else giving her a vision of something, when she could imagine it herself when reading a book.

She had however moved out into the living room to eat her Chinese takeout, when she got a text from Laura.

" _Where are you? Aren't you usually at the café at 5?"_ Carmilla could feel a slight sting of nervousness in her stomach. How was she going to reply? Was she even going to?

She didn't have the stomach not to reply, knowing that a confused and probably sad Laura was standing down at the café. Knowing that Laura had joyfully entered the café as she always does, expecting to see Carmilla sitting by the table in the corner, her smile fading as she realized she wasn't.

" _I'm working late today, sorry."_ Carmilla replied, knowing that if she would tell Laura she was sick and at home, she'd probably rush up to her apartment faster than lightning to take care of her.

The thought made Carmilla smile for a second, but it faded slowly as she read the next text from Laura.

" _You are? Because I went past the library before going to the café to surprise you, but you weren't there. So I figured you had left work early and went down to the café, but you obviously aren't here either. You know Carm, if you don't feel like hanging out with me you could've just said so."_

Carmilla's heart sank so low, it felt like it was lying at the bottom of her stomach. She had no idea on how to reply to that, because Laura knew she wasn't telling the truth, so there was no use trying to tell more lies.

She ended up tossing her phone besides her on the sofa in frustration, without sending a reply to Laura at all. Then she stuffed her mouth full of food, trying to suffocate and comfort the aching she felt spreading in her whole body.

 _Smooth Sundance, smooth._

Shut up, you weren't really helping me, so just shut up.

 _She wanted to see you, so what the hell are you doing?_

I'm doing what is best; I was bound to ruin things sooner or later anyways.

 _Dear God, you're one sad and broody little thing, aren't you? Stop feeling so sorry for yourself!_

I'm not feeling sorry for myself, go away!

 _Sure you are! And I can't exactly go away, I am you and I'm in your head, remember?_

Whatever.

 _You better fix this mess before it becomes even messier. You like this girl, so get your sorry ass off the couch, get dressed and walk down to that stupid café before I kick your ass._

You can't, you're in my head, remember?

 _Don't be cocky, get up!_

No, I won't!

 _Alright, suit yourself._

* * *

The weekend passed and Carmilla was indeed feeling sorry for herself. She had spent her days in bed and constantly eating on something that would probably give her heart disease if she didn't stop. She also hadn't showered sine Thursday, her dark brown curls were a big mess and she probably smelled like a junkyard. God, she must've been a pathetic sight.

Laura had only texted her once after her last text three days ago, which had said something in style of _"Why the hell aren't you replying? You know what, fine, don't then. Nice knowing you."_

Carmilla had gotten that text yesterday and today, a strong feeling of guilt had knocked over her as soon as she woke up that morning. One month had passed, one stupid month and she had already managed to screw what she wanted the most in this world up.

She stared up the ceiling as her thoughts flew rapidly and violently through her mind. Everything was ruined, Laura probably hated her and she for sure hated herself.

But wait. Everything was ruined because Carmilla had taken distance from Laura. Laura was mad at her for not being with her. Carmilla had been convinced for days that if she kept seeing Laura, she would ruin things, but by doing the exact opposite she had managed to do just that.

 _Are you seriously only realizing this now? She wants to be with you!_

Not anymore though, she made that very clear in her text.

 _Jesus fucking Christ, you're being ridiculous. Okay, look at the clock._

Carmilla turned her head and looked at the digital alarm clock placed on a nightstand beside her bed. It was soon to be 12 p.m.

 _Laura is at work, very likely having her lunch break right now. Now, get up and take a shower, because you stink, and then head over there. Confess how you feel and get this girl back, because I swear to you, if you let her slip through your fingers, that'll be the worst mistake of your life._

Carmilla took a deep breath, considering the idea of heading to Laura's workplace and confessing how she felt about her for a second. Would she really dare to? Oh, screw it! She threw the duvet to the side and rushed to the shower. She was going to get Laura back and it was now or never.

* * *

One hour later, Carmilla stormed into the head office of the newspaper. People immediately stopped what they were doing and they all stared in shock at Carmilla.

Her entrance had maybe been a bit too overdramatic and could've been a bit more discrete, but the adrenaline was rushing through Carmilla's veins and she couldn't calm herself down.

She was really doing this, right now and there was no turning back.

"I'm looking for Laura, ehm… I don't know her last name so I'm hoping there's only one Laura working here." Carmilla said rapidly. The older woman, who sat in the reception area, just glared at her for a moment.

"Next time I'd appreciate a less noisy entrance, miss…?" The woman said in annoyance.

"Karnstein."

"Miss Karnstein. Laura Hollis's office is down the corridor, fifth door to the left."

"Thank you." Carmilla said and tried to walk down the corridor as calmly as possible, to not draw any more attention to her.

When she came down to Laura's office, she took a long and deep breath before knocking a bit on the wall.

Laura was sitting by her desk eating her lunch, her face hidden by a large computer screen. When she heard the noise, she looked up over the screen, chewing on her vegie burger.

"Hey. Can I come in?" Carmilla said and watched as Laura's expression went from surprised to sour.

"What are you doing here, Carmilla?" She asked after she swallowed her food.

"I came here to talk with you." Carmilla stepped inside the office and closed the door behind her without Laura's permission to do so. She needed to do this before she would chicken out.

"Oh, really?" Laura said and raised her eyebrows in a mix of sarcasm and shock. "From what I have understood you didn't want to talk with me four days ago and no other day for that matter. Until right now that is, so how come?"

Laura crossed her arms over her chest as Carmilla slowly made her way closer to the desk, until she was standing beside it. "I-I'm sorry for that, it's just…"

Laura turned to face Carmilla, still seated in her chair. "It's just what, Carmilla?! You didn't answer my texts and didn't talk to me for four days. It happened just like that, completely out of the blue, goodbye Laura. I can't see how you can have any reasonable explanation for that!"

"I really am sorry Laura, and I do have an explanation."

"Oh, I'm looking forward to this. Do you have any idea of how I've felt during these days? I've never felt so unwanted before in my life!" Laura said and turned a bit so she wouldn't have to look at Carmilla, tears starting to burn behind her eyelids.

"Unwanted? Laura, you're not unwanted. I just… It's hard to explain, I don't even know where to begin." Carmilla dropped her head in defeat and guilt. How was she even going to explain all this to Laura?

They both became silent for a moment. Laura was doing her best to keep her sobs quiet and Carmilla was fighting to find words.

"I think you should leave." Laura finally said in a weak voice and rose from her chair, facing Carmilla.

"What, no! I haven't even gotten a chance to explain. Laura, please." Carmilla took a step forward, pleading Laura to not kick her out from the office.

"You haven't explained anything so far! So, if you don't have anything to come with, then I suggest you leave now." Laura wrapped her arms around herself and turned a bit to the side, as if she was trying to keep herself from falling apart.

"Laura…"

"Leave!" Laura snapped and quickly turned her head towards Carmilla. Laura stared at her, as if her next move was going to stab Carmilla with one of the pencils that were lying on her desk.

Carmilla didn't feel threatened though. She refused to leave, not when she had managed to convince herself to get up and face Laura. She would probably never be able to convince herself again if she left.

"No, I won't!" She quickly stepped forward, closing the gap between them by a lot.

"Laura, I can't leave, because if I do…" Carmilla reached out to place her hands on the side of Laura's arms, turning Laura to face her. Much to Carmilla's surprise, Laura didn't fight against it. She even allowed Carmilla to wipe away a tear that escaped her eye and slowly rolled down her cheek.

"Then what?" Laura said sharply, still looking like she was going to stab her.

"Then I wouldn't be able to do this." Carmilla said and moved one of her hands to place it at the back of Laura's head. She then started to lean in, her eyes locked on Laura's lips.

The sound of her own heart beating violently against her chest was loud in Laura's ears, as she felt Carmilla's warm breath against her skin. They were so close, within a second, their lips almost touching. Laura was completely in shock, so she just stood there, frozen. Emotions rushed through her body as Carmilla made her way closer and closer to her.

Just as their lips were about to meet, there was a loud knock on the door. Carmilla threw herself backwards in shock and right into the table which was standing behind her. She had knocked the back of her hand against the hard wood during her uncontrollable movement.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" She exclaimed at the sudden pain and grabbed her hand with her other one.

"Oh, I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to startle you." An unfamiliar voice came from the doorway.

"What do you want, Danny?" Laura said and brushed a strand of hair away from her face, sounding a bit more annoyed than she intended. Though, she was annoyed, extremely annoyed.

"Sorry, I just came to drop of some papers. I'm really sorry!" The redheaded and very tall girl said, before quickly making her way to the desk, where she placed a bunch of papers. Then she quickly made her way out again, closing the door behind her.

Laura sighed loudly as she sat down in her chair, rubbing her temple slowly.

It became quiet. Painfully quiet for what seemed like forever.

"That was…" Carmilla finally said and stood up straight from the table.

"That was very inconvenient and annoying. How's your hand?" Laura said and looked up at Carmilla, a little smile forming on her lips.

Carmilla felt great relief spread through her body when she saw Laura smiling at her.

"I've had worse." She joked and took some steps closer to Laura, who stood up from the chair.

As soon as Carmilla had closed the gap between them for the first time, she took both of Laura's hands in hers, earning a bright smile from the blonde.

"Please don't hate me, Laura. It's just that… I was just… Scared, I guess. I'm not really good at interacting with other people and especially not in this way. I really, really like you Laura, more than I've ever liked someone before. I started to overthink and panic because of my growing feelings for you and I pushed you away, because I was scared I'd screw things up. But I ended up doing just that." Carmilla confessed, feeling a light blush spreading on her cheeks.

Laura bit her lip slightly. "I might've gone a bit overboard, but I could never hate you, Carm."

Carmilla smiled at Laura calling her Carm again. "I'm very relieved to her that, I'm still sorry though."

"It's okay. Just, don't ever disappear like that again." Laura reached up to cup Carmilla's chin. Carmilla slightly leaned to the touch. "And I really like you too, a lot."

Laura smiled warmly and so did Carmilla, feeling an incredible happiness rush through her body.

"Now, would you like to share the rest of my lunch with me?" Laura asked and smiled sheepishly, before turning to grab a French fry. When she turned back, she held it up in front of Carmilla's mouth.

"I'd love to." Carmilla smirked, before she opened her mouth allowing Laura to place the fry in it, her fingers slightly brushing against Carmilla's lower lip as she did.

One month ago, Carmilla would've gaged at the sight of a couple feeding each other food. Now, when Laura did it, she found it incredibly sweet and she would allow it at any time. Even in public.

 _Well, that went pretty well, despite the interruption of the kiss._

She doesn't hate me at least.

 _But there will be other opportunities for a kiss._

There will.


End file.
